Record Store Day 2025 [April 12th] is upcoming and EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE wants to encourage you all to come out and help all your local record shops celebrate the day by purchasing as as many wonderful new vinyl releases as possible!

We hope you find something you love to take home with you, whether that be something released exclusively for Record Store Day or something fantastic from what the store nearest you regularly stock.

Yes, every day should be Record Store Day, we agree, so we encourage you to make stopping by your favorite record store AND stopping by this website a regular thing - because we’ll be telling you about awesome things going on at record stores all year long!

And so, as our dear friends at Sony Legacy Recordings have once more kindly sent us quite a few of their RSD 2025 [April 12th] releases for review, as always, we shall review and highlight them all.

From Oasis to Judas Priest, Legacy’s offerings this year include rare and previously unreleased materials from legendary artists across its broad catalog slate.

Cypress Hill, Live At The Fillmore 2000 (2LP – First Time on Vinyl): Experience the raw energy and dynamic performance of Cypress Hill with ‘Live at the Fillmore,’ now available on vinyl for the first time!

Recorded at the iconic Fillmore in San Francisco on August 16th, 2000, this live album captures the legendary hip-hop group’s powerful stage presence and musical prowess.

Relive the excitement with electrifying live versions of hits like “Hand on the Pump,” “Insane in the Brain,” “Cock the Hammer,” and “I Wanna Get High.” The set-list also includes fan favorites such as “A to the K,” “Riot Starter,” and “(Rock) Superstar,” among others.

Side A:
1. Hand on the Pump
2. Real Estate
3. How I Could Just Kill a Man
4. Insane in the Brain
5. Pigs

Side B:
1. Looking Through the Eye of a Pig
2. Cock the Hammer
3. Checkmate

Side C:
1. Can’t Get the Best of Me
2. Lick a Shot
3. A to the K
4. I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That

Side D:
1. I Wanna Get High
2. Stoned Is the Way of the Walk
3. Hits from the Bong
4. Riot Starter
5. (Rock) Superstar

A party with a six-foot bong is the easiest way to describe Cypress Hill’s live set! Back in the day, I actually purchased this original CD after attending a little concert they put together called Smoke Out. I loved Cypress Hill’s Skull and Bones album, which, was the first rock-rap combo coming from an experienced rap group.

This live show takes Skull and Bones further though because they rewrote some of their older tunes to hard-rock beats, with backup courtesy of Sen-Dog’s metal group SX-10, like A to the K, Lick a Shot, and I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That.

Of course there are also their stoner songs, like I Wanna Get High, Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk and the silly Hits From The Bong along with some great versions of one of my favorite songs, Insane In The Brain, along with other stand outs such as Riot Starter, Can’t Get The Best Of Me and Rock Superstar.

It’s also great to see the way Sen-Dog and B-Real interact with the audience (the audience sings along to Can’t Get The Best of Me and Insane In The Brain) which all combined leads me to say that, in my humble opinion, Cypress Hill is a much better live band than studio one - so rush out and buy this double vinyl LP today and judge for yourselves!

David Gilmour with Romany Gilmour, Between Two Points (1LP – On Clear Vinyl): Between Two Points by David Gilmour with Romany Gilmour, this vinyl only release celebrates one of the stand-out tracks from the #1 album ‘Luck and Strange’.

The song, initially recorded by The Montgolfier Brothers, features the ethereal vocals of Romany Gilmour. This collection includes the album version of the song, an exclusive live version recorded during David’s sold-out run at London’s Royal Albert Hall and two versions of a brand-new Balearic-influenced remix by Rob Gentry, who played keyboards on both the album and the accompanying tour.

Side A:
1. Vita Brevis / Between Two Points (Live From The Royal Albert Hall)
2. Between Two Points (Gentry Remix)

Side B:
1. Between Two Points (Gentry Remix Edit)
2. Between Two Points (Album Version)

The opener, Vita Brevis / Between Two Points comes complete with an impassioned restrained melancholic vibe, which embodies everything good about the live recording. Romany’s voice is a most perfect match for this song and David’s solo at the end is so smooth and bluesy that if you are sitting down whilst listening you might well just fall asleep!

The veritably shimmering, low lying, synth-hued prog-rock gem of the newly remixed track Between Two Points is next brought forth in, kinda sorta, three different fashions here, but my goodness, what a magnificent set it truly is to place on your turntable and drop the needle on.

For those not aware, the song itself is about having your voice heard, to carrying yourself above the crashing noise. Gilmour does not do this for himself, and the conflict raging through this one is, ultimately, what it will be remembered for.

Judas Priest, Live In Atlanta ’82 (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2LP on Red Vinyl – First Time on Vinyl): Previously only available on CD as part of the 50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music box-set, Judas Priest’s incendiary performance from the Atlanta leg of their World Vengeance tour at the Omni, 11th December 1982 will be released as a double LP solid red vinyl for Record Store Day 2025.

Side A:
1. The Hellion / Electric Eye
2. Riding On The Wind
3. Heading Out To The Highway
4. Metal Gods
5. Bloodstone

Side B:
1. Breaking The Law
2. Sinner
3. Desert Plains
4. The Ripper

Side C:
1. Diamonds And Rust
2. Devils Child
3. Screaming For Vengeance
4. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’

Side D:
1. Victim Of Changes
2. Living After Midnight
3. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)
4. Hell Bent For Leather

The 95 minutes gig begins with the classic intro The Hellion/Electric Eye followed immediately by the pulsating Riding On The Wind, both tracks from the brilliant Screaming For Vengeance album. This full concert soundtrack is extremely enjoyable to listen to, with classic Priest tracks like Metal Gods, Bloodstone, Breaking The Law, The Ripper, Devils Child and Victim Of Changes all being fired out the metal canon one after another.

A nice addition to this concert is Diamonds And Rust and The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) which are actually both cover tracks that were not included in the original release in 1983. All in all, the concert features 17 great tracks (no filler here!) that are seen nowadays as classic tunes being part of the Judas Priest and heavy metal legacy.

Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music (2LP, Metallic Silver Vinyl): Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music is an album that stands out for its defiance of traditional music norms. Released in 1975, and described as “The greatest record ever made in the history of the human eardrum” by Lester Bangs (Creem, 1975), it challenged listeners and critics alike with its experimental approach.

Now, to mark its 50th anniversary, a special Metallic Silver vinyl edition is being launched as part of Record Store Day, offering fans a chance to reconnect with this groundbreaking work.

Side A:
1. Metal Machine Music [Part 1]
2. Metal Machine Music [Part 2]

Side B:
1. Metal Machine Music [Part 3]
2. Metal Machine Music [Part 4]

Lou Reed’s sixth solo album, Metal Machine Music was released in 1975, five years after the dispersal of the Velvet Underground, and it represented a new way of thinking about reality that implied a new kind of relationship between sound, composer and listener, involving a disgusted rejection of his superficial public image and a typically argumentative testing of what was possible in rock music in terms of execution, comprehension and conception.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it exists both as a work of art, a portal through which you can find a provocative history of the avant garde, and as a prime example of a guileless rock star showing off.

Containing nothing but Lou’s all-time favorite thing – electric guitar and distorted feedback – MMM is 64 minutes of violent, spitting droning split into four vinyl sides of more or less the same cheerless, inert and shrieking length. I’ve written about it before and I’ll write about it again, not least because you cannot really call yourself a rock journalist if you haven’t written at least 25,000 words about the damned thing!

So, here today I write some more words about it, for it is an unadulteratedly intense collision of surreal object, hate letter, emotional outburst, poetic assault, bubblegum serialism, artistic bombshell, infected ambition, celebrity breakdown, creative exhaustion, sinister confession, nervous tension, practical joke, and artistic tantrum, whilst always being presented as a most wondrous psychedelic documentary.

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Echoes (Live) (The B-side includes an exclusive etched design): Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets share an incredible live cut of their interpretation of the classic Pink Floyd song “Echoes”. Propelled by Nick Mason’s bombastic drumming, this recording captures the band with Gary Kemp, Guy Pratt, Dom Beken and Lee Harris at the peak of their powers.

The performance was recorded on August 1st, 2024 at the Centennial Hall in Frankfurt, Germany by Steve Carr. Echoes Live was mixed by Steven Wilson with consultation and assistance from Dom Beken. It was half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road and plays inside-out for ultimate sound quality.

Side A:
1. Echoes (Live)

Side B:
Etching

With what is such a great tribute band coming together to play homage to one of the greatest bands to ever grace our musical scene, I especially love how eerily their “Nick Mason” sounds like PF’s Nick Mason, of that makes any sense!

The band brings such a wondrous energy to their performance and, while they remain true to the spirit of the original recording, the band are such great musicians they can flex around what was originally recorded to add plenty of their own touches.

Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp is not only an excellent lead and rhythm guitarist, who often trades solos back and forth with Lee Harris, but also has a similar vocal register to Syd Barret. Guy Pratt is one of the world’s best bass players whose playing looks effortless despite playing intricate bass lines, and having toured with Dave Gilmour he is no stranger to Floyd material.

Also, you should be aware that this record actually only plays from the inside out! Meaning, to listen to it you have to place the needle manually down on the center of the record and watch as it visibly plays the music backwards so to speak!

Prince & The New Power Generation, Live At Glam Slam (3LP, Yellow Vinyl): Broken out from the Grammy-nominated Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition as a stand-alone piece for the first time as a Record Store Day exclusive, this 3xLP set comprises a complete concert performance of Prince & The NPG previewing the Diamonds And Pearls Tour at Prince’s small Minneapolis club, Glam Slam in January 1992.

Mixed from the 24-track master, the performance clocks in at just over 100 minutes of sweaty, groove-laden brilliance led by the one and only Prince, capturing the sheer joy and sense of endless possibility that came to define this era. Housed in a gorgeous triple gatefold, the 3 LP’s on yellow 140 gram vinyl contain 5 sides of music and an etching of the cover of Diamonds And Pearls on side 6.

Side A:
1. Thunder (5:12)
2. Daddy Pop (6:14)
3. Diamonds And Pearls (5:21)

Side B:
1. Willing And Able (6:27)
2. Jughead (6:42)
3. The Sacrifice of Victor (9:23)

Side C:
1. Nothing Compares 2 U (4:31)
2. Thieves in the Temple (6:03)
3. Sexy M.F. (5:33)

Side D:
1. Insatiable (7:35)
2. Cream / Well Done / I Want U / In The Socket (Medley) (14:15)

Side E:
1. 1999 / Baby I’m A Star / Push (Medley) (9:20)
2. Gett Off (6:17)
3. Gett Off (Houstyle) (7:43)

Side F:
Etching

Personally, I love that this has never been released until now because, as a devoted fan, it is very close to the actual D&P tour set-list and the best sounding so far. I also love the fact that Sexy MF is played so early on (given that this was January 1992) and with slightly different lyrics.

That said, and as all true purple fans will obviously attest to, the three vinyl set sounds like a straight soundboard transfer and with no remastering. It’s fine, but vocals are sometimes lower, drums too prominent and instruments a bit muted. But again, it is all just fine, but I would have hoped for some sonic tweaking ahead of this RSD release.

That all said, I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to now listen to something from Prince’s vault that otherwise, I would have had no other legal way of ever doing so. For Live at Glam Slam offers fans the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the electric atmosphere of Prince and the NPG’s intimate 1992 concert.

Organized and recorded on short notice to preview the D&P tour, this concert showcases the iconic artist and his band tearing through songs from their recently released D&P album. Furthermore, the recording holds a special place in music history, marking several significant firsts. Notably, it was the very first time Prince and the NPG publically performed the complete D&P Tour show. It also remains the only time they ever performed it in the United States.

Rage Against The Machine, Live On Tour 1993 (2LP, with etched fourth side): Rage Against The Machine Live On Tour 1993 is a compilation of completely untouched and unmixed live recordings from the band’s first world tour. It’s like stepping back in time to witness the explosive performances that defined the band. The vinyl includes an etching and three sides of music, preserving the intensity and rawness of each show.

Side A:
1. Bombtrack – Washington DC 3.5.93 (4:22)
2. Killing In The Name – Orlando 3.17.93 (5:29)
3. Take The Power Back – Atlanta 3.23.93 (6:39)
4. Settle For Nothing – Gainesville 3.15.93 (5:18)

Side B:
1. Bullet In The Head – Paris 2.8.93 (6:30)
2. Know Your Enemy – Toronto 3.31.93 (4:51)
3. Wake Up – Philadelphia 3.28.93 (8:27)

Side C:
1. Fistful Of Steel – Milan 2.13.93 (5:35)
2. Township Rebellion – San Francisco 4.15.93 (5:06)
3. Freedom – Chicago 4.3.93 (6:36)

Side D:
1. Etching

With what have been described as a compilation of 10 “completely untouched and unmixed live recordings” from various cities on RATM’s 1993 tour, what we get is an incredible live exhibition of one of the most musically compelling, politically-fueled hardcore hip-hop bands to have ever recorded and/or gone on tour!

A four-piece, multiracial unit, at times live Rage sounds almost like New York’s legendary Bad Brains, had that band hit on rap and hip-hop to blend with their hardcore-cum-metal rather than reggae. Frontman/vocalist Zack de la Rocha is riveting here on this live cuts, delivering message-laden intros to a receptive throng, while guitarist Tom Morello proved he can hold his own with the best, even one of my own personal favorites Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, and still come out on top.

From Township Rebellion to Fistful Of Steel to Bullet In The Head, Rage’s set did exactly that - raging with the intensity of an angry young band that has a lot to say and has the tools to make their message interesting. Thus we are brought forth here a hard-hitting collection of refreshingly honest and raw music, whilst always relying on real instrumentation for their funk-punk-metal-rap-hip-hop sound.

Shudder To Think, From The Motion Picture First Love, Last Rites Music (1LP): The vinyl debut of the soundtrack to First Love, Last Rites – a 1997 American indie film directed by Jesse Peretz – was composed and performed by D.C. alt-rock band Shudder To Think.

This classic 90’s indie-rock soundtrack features various all-star lead singers Jeff Buckley, Liz Phair, John Doe (X), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), plus others.

Side A:
1. I Want Someone Badly feat. Jeff Buckley
2. Erecting A Movie Star feat. Liz Phair
3. Diamonds, Sparks & All
4. When I Was Born, I Was Bored feat. Billy Corgan
5. Appalachian Lullaby feat. Nina Persson
6. Airfield Dream
7. Automatic Soup feat. Robin Zander
8. Lonesome Dove

Side B:
1. Speed Of Love feat. John Doe
2. Day Ditty feat. Angela McCluskey
3. Wedding Is Over feat. Lena Karlsson
4. Jelly On The Table feat. Matt Johnson
5. Just Really Wanna See You feat. Mimi Parker & Alan Sparhawk
6. I Want Someone Badly
7. Final Dream

These heartfelt retro collages call on a superstar guest list to evoke pop fashion of every era from the 30’s to now. They call it a fake oldies record, but there’s nothing bogus about the raw emotion poured into soaring doo-wop gospel wailer I Want Someone Badly by Jeff Buckley, or in Cardigans singer Nina Persson’s spine-tingling yodels on Appalachian Lullaby. She evokes the ghost of Patsy Cline on this track, more so than LeAnn Rimes ever will and thus is a perfect song to go to sleep to.

The aforementioned Jeff Buckley tune I Want Someone Badly brings all those 50’s wailers to mind while Just really Want to See You is a duet with a Neil Diamond sound-alike and which works tremendously well (so much so that my own mum thought it was really him!)

OK, to be very honest not every track is great. The Billy Corgan track When I Was Born, I Was Bored doesn’t work here within this landscape IMHO, nor does the Liz Phair song Erecting A Movie Star, but my goodness at the other end of the works brilliantly scale we get Cheap Trick veritably reborn on the pulsating Automatic Soup (with Robin Zander on lead vocals).

Overall though, Shudder To Think pull this one off admirably. It doesn’t always work, but if you like variety this is a great listen and now that it is out on RSD black vinyl for the very first time, well, this is the time to now add it to your soundtrack LP collection.

Thelonious Monk, Live At The It Club (2LP): Includes classic performances of “Straight, No Chaser”, “‘Round Midnight”, and more! Performance recorded at The “It” Club in Los Angeles, CA on Oct 31st and Nov 1st, 1964.

Remastered from the original analog tapes at 24-bit Hi-Res Audio.

Side A:
1. Blue Monk (7:30)
2. Well, You Needn’t (7:35)
3. ’Round Midnight (6:35)

Side B:
1. Rhythm-A-Ning (6:55)
2. Blues Five Spot (Five Spot Blues) (5:50)
3. Bemsha Swing (5:30)

Side C:
1. Straight, No Chaser (4:30)
2. Nutty (7:35)
3. Evidence (5:45)

Side D:
1. Misterioso (8:20)
2. Gallop’s Gallop (5:15)
3. Ba-Blue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (6:25)

Thelonious Monk was frequently recorded in live settings during his tenure with Columbia, though the original two-LP set wasn’t released until 1982, and then only in edited form. This pair of 1964 dates at the It Club feature the pianist with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Larry Gales, and drummer Ben Riley, as usual, concentrating almost exclusively on his own works.

The band is in terrific form, with Monk clearly stimulated by the tightness of his rhythm section and Rouse’s strong playing. A smokingly brisk Well, You Needn’t and the particularly playful ’Round Midnight especially stand out on the first LP. The second LP has a few surprises, with the leader calling for less frequently played compositions like Nutty and the obscure, challenging Gallop’s Gallop, originally recorded by Monk for Savoy on a date led by Gigi Gryce.

Monk’s humor comes to the fore in his interpretation of Misterios, showing off his stride piano in the introduction, as well as his simply breathtaking closer Ba-Blue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are). These brilliant sets gives the listener a ringside table to Thelonious Monk at the top of his game and thus this newly-remastered 2LP RSD set is just perfect to add to your jazz collections.

Toad The Wet Sprocket, Welcome Home: Live At The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara 1992 (2LP): Capturing the ‘90s alt rock band’s first hometown show in Santa Barbara, CA following the success of their platinum album Fear and supporting tour – Welcome Home is a live celebration of Toad The Wet Sprocket’s triumph.

Originally released on CD in 2004, this proud homecoming set sees its first time on vinyl, remastered from the original sources.

Side A:
1. Walk On The Ocean
2. One Little Girl
3. Scenes From A Vinyl Recliner
4. All I Want
5. Jam
6. Before You Were Born

Side B:
1. Butterflies
2. Torn
3. Chile
4. Nightingale Song

Side C:
1. Brother
2. Hold Her Down
3. Come Back Down
4. Stories I Tell
5. Know Me

Side D:
1. Way Away
2. Is It For Me
3. Fall Down
4. I Will Not Take These Things for Granted

Recorded in Toad’s hometown a year after the release of best-seller Fear, this Arlington Theatre performance gives us the best, and much of the worst, the alt-rock radio stalwarts had to offer. The mix is crystal-clear, balancing Glen Phillips’s passionate tenor against the impressive contributions of guest keyboard player Bruce Winter, while leaving room for the occasional revelation.

Energetic romps through “Walk on the Ocean” and “One Little Girl” whip the devoted crowd into a frenzy, but the middle portion of the set-list descends into dirge-dom, drawing too frequently from 1990’s maudlin, preachy Pale. Before the hits resume, there’s just enough time to remember that in 1992, Toad was still a few years shy of their creative peak and this delicious double live album is solid proof of that.

In closing, it offers what followers of the band would expect: a tight set of 19 tunes, almost all of them drawn from their early albums, signifying their position among the most popular bands treading the interface between R.E.M.-influenced alternative rock and the mainstream.

And finally, as promised, here are the remaining titles that were not sent for review, but will all still be getting released this coming April RSD 2025:

The Grays, Ro Sham Bo (2LP)

John Legend, Get Lifted…Rising (1LP – First Time on Vinyl)

Neil Finn, Sessions At West 54th (2LP)

Oasis, Time Flies… 1994-2009 (4LP, Color Vinyl)

Shudder To Think, Pony Express Record (2LP, Ultra Clear Vinyl)

Soul Asylum, After The Flood: Live From The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 (2LP)

www.RecordStoreDay.com